Chris Wadibia (COL ’16) and Meredith Cheney’s (COL ’16) paths to Georgetown diverged from that of the university’s archetype. For starters, the prospect of attending Georgetown was initially distant to both candidates.

Originally from Mobile, Ala., Wadibia said that he attributes much of his dedication to serving the students of Georgetown to his gratitude toward the university.

“I know what it’s like not to be at Georgetown. I come from southern Alabama, and I was told I wasn’t smart enough to be here,” Wadibia said. “I didn’t have the money be here either, but I’m here today. And Georgetown has been so good to me, and I’ve always sought out ways I could give back to Georgetown and pay it forward. For me, this is my way of seeking to serve my fellow students.”

Likewise, Cheney, who transferred twice, first from Southern Methodist University to Villanova University, then to Georgetown, said that once she arrived here, she realized that she wanted to become a large part of the university, namely through the Georgetown University Student Association.

“I had transferred twice and never really felt that I could find the true college experience and now that I have, and I’m being so happy at Georgetown,” Cheney said. “I didn’t think it was within my ability as a transfer to really have that much of a change. But as time progressed, and I was involved in more things … it became clear that [running for vice president] could be an option.”

The two candidates have also been involved in campus life on many different levels. With no prior affiliations to GUSA, Wadibia has actively served in leadership positions in ESCAPE, the African Society of Georgetown, Lecture Fund and Leaders in Education About Diversity, in addition to a term as a community member on The Hoya’s editorial board. Wadibia is perhaps known best among students for his talk on interfaith understanding entitled “Being Fully Human” that he delivered at TEDxGeorgetown last November.

By contrast, Cheney has devoted much of her time at Georgetown to serving as a GUSA senator, originally representing the Southwest Quad and now Nevils and Alumni Square, in addition to her position as vice chair of the GUSA Finance and Appropriations Committee. Outside of GUSA, Cheney is chair of Georgetown Day and a communications coordinator of the Office of Sustainability.

The two met through their work on the Lecture Fund, and developed a friendship and working relationship, which culminate in this campaign.

Despite different backgrounds, Wadibia and Cheney are united in their emphasis on dignity, which has become a buzzword for their campaign on campus since it was unleashed as the pair’s slogan.

After launching their “dignity” campaign, The Wadibia-Cheney ticket has faced recent challenges. Wadibia said his poster in Red Square has been torn down multiple times, his Facebook posts have been flagged as pornography and he has been accused of homophobia and ignorance about sexual assault.

“I have been accused of being homophobic. … I have been accused of being pro-sexual assault, yet every individual on this campus knows that when I speak to persons—particularly women—I speak to every individual with respect,” Wadibia said in the presidential debate Monday.

Despite these setbacks, the pair remains firm in their plans to make students “admire” GUSA, which they believe will restore the association’s “dignity.”

“[Many students] find [GUSA] to be an elitist, distant, aloof institution,” Wadibia said. “[We] wish to restore dignity to the student association, so that students look upon GUSA as something that they admire [and] cherish, because it makes practical, tangible differences in their lives.”

According to Cheney, an important part of dignity is recognizing the voices of all students. Though all campaigns in the race value student involvement and made it a large part of their platforms, Cheney claims that her ticket’s “trickle-down” approach is unique.

“The most important thing with dignity is that leadership is mostly top-down, so you gotta start this movement somewhere,” Cheney said. “This is what Chris and I hope to do, and that trickles down through the rest of the community to recognize that their voices are as equals are ours, and that their knowledge base on specific issues needs to be heard, and we’re just there to reiterate that basically.”

When asked to describe one another, both candidates mentioned the qualities of passion and approachability.

“I think that one of Chris’s most endearing qualities is how deeply loyal he is to whatever he chooses to put his heart into,” Cheney said. “It takes one moment to speak to Chris, then you’re completely captivated by his character and willingness to just listen and to speak with you.”

Wadibia described Cheney as more light-hearted than he is, in addition to being affable.

“Meredith is kind of like the heart and soul of the campaign … You know when I get too serious, she’s the one to kind of go, push me around a little bit and say ‘Loosen up,’” Wadibia said. “When Meredith connects with an individual, she doesn’t just say ‘Hi, it’s good to meet you, let’s get lunch sometime,’ then doesn’t follow up with it. [S]he’ll follow up with you. Meredith is about deep relationships with individuals … and that’s what we want to do with the student association.”

Other members on the Wadibia and Cheney team agreed that the two candidates are interested in the well being of other students.

Underclassmen Campaign Manager Tim Yim (SFS ’17) said that Wadibia’s ability to connect personally with students was evident from his role as a residential assistant.

“Chris was my residential assistant and he was such a genuine person here at Georgetown that it surprised me. He stood out at being warm and welcoming on a campus that was so politically charged,” Yim said. “True, Chris isn’t the political mastermind, but that is his great strength. [He has an] ability [to] transcend politics and return GUSA from its overcharged duties back into an association for students.

Similarly, Chief of Communications and Social Media Natalia Peña (COL ’17) described Cheney to be a good friend above all.

“Meredith has been nothing short of spectacular. Her involvement on campus may be a lot, but she finds time to run and meet up for brunch. Her passion for student issues and well-being is hard to surpass,” Peña said.

Beyond their experience with various student groups and the goals on their platform, Wadibia and Cheney hope to bring this passion for building relationships with students to GUSA if elected.

“When was the last time the student body president or vice president walked by you, shook your hand, looked you in the eye and said ‘How are you doing today, my friend?,’” Wadibia asked. “That’s a foreign concept at Georgetown when it comes to the GUSA executives, but that’s the personability [sic], loyalty and diligence that we want to bring to GUSA.”

Despite Wadibia’s claim, current GUSA executives Trevor Tezel (SFS ’15) and Omika Jikaria (SFS ’15) made student and GUSA communication and collaboration a large facet of their campaign, with an entire section called “Connect to Your Community.”

“We want to connect students to both GUSA and the administration, through things like the multicultural council and holding office hours for GUSA,” Tezel said in an interview about his platform in February 2014.

Although other candidates have said they value student participation and collaboration, Wadibia said that he wants to make substantive changes to the way that GUSA operates by championing student relationships, which he believes sets his ticket apart from the rest.

“The Chris and Meredith 2015 campaign is not just a campaign, it’s a movement,” Wadibia said. “It’s not just about winning, it’s about how we win. If we win [in the way] every GUSA campaign that has traditionally won has, we’ve done nothing.”